Steelers: Questions for Dick LeBeau

Friday

The 73-year-old defensive coordinator speaks out as the Steelers continue preparations for Sundayís AFC Championship Game against the Jets:

Q: How much longer will you coach?

A: I have a standard retort to that. Hell, I am not even the oldest coach in the state of Pennsylvania. Thereís a guy up there at Penn State thatís 10 years older than me. I feel like the baby. First of all, someone has to want you to coach. We have been blessed from that standpoint. We'll see how that goes. I donít think these guys had too bad of a year defensively. We still have some defense to play. If somebody wants me to work, I think maybe we can still get them in-and-out of the huddle a couple times. But I am not looking too far down the road. As a friend once said, ĎWeíre not buying any green bananas, baby.í

Q: Can you talk about the relationship you have with your defensive players?

A: ďI know that I have got some really good players. I coach and they play. They make me look like a pretty good coach sometimes.Ē

Q: How special was it to have all the Steelers players with you at your induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame ceremony last summer?

A: They are the best PR department Iíve got. They got me in. It was great. Itís very humbling to be honest with you. Itís the type of thing that makes you think youíve made the right career choice at least when the guys you are working with can treat you like that. Itís a very special thing and itís a lifetime memory. Itís something I will never forget.

Q: Whatís your take on the Steelers leading the NFL in rushing defense?

A: Somebody said this (62.8 yards per game) was the best rushing defense number in the history of this franchise. Weíre going to be happy with that. I think they had some pretty good defenses here in the 1970s. But to put up the numbers like our guys did in a 16-game season, they had to play darn-good run defense. (The Jets) are one of the best rushing teams in the league, so we are going to have to play very well to hold them down running the ball.

Q: Are you amazed that the Steelers keep playing so well defensively for all these years?

A: Our front office has done a great job with coach (Mike) Tomlin drafting to fit what we do. That goes right back to Kevin Greene and Greg Lloyd and those guys. And of course, the defenses of the Ď70s and those linebackers, they are all in the Hall of Fame. I think some of these others will end up in there also. Sometimes that is handed down really from one generation of players to another. I definitely think this group of defenders has been affected by earlier groups by how hard they play and how they run to the ball. Thatís just Steelersí football. Really itís reflecting back to the guys that played here before these guys.

_ Compiled by Mike Bires

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